Batting

BOCA RATON, Fla. – After two days of weather delays, the Saint Leo and No. 9 Lynn baseball teams wrapped up Sunshine State Conference play on Saturday from the Fighting Knights' field in Boca Raton.

Senior righty Brent Krauss took the mound for the Lions' in the seven inning contest, tossing 5.1 innings and allowing just five hits before senior LHP Brandon Terry came in for relief duties. The pair allowed no hits and combined for three strikeouts. The victory pushed Krauss to a 6-1 record on the year, while Terry picked up his eighth save.

Both teams went scoreless through the first three innings, and it was Saint Leo who jumpstarted the scoring in the top of the fourth to take a lead. After senior Fran Whitten led off the inning with a triple, freshman Dylan Harris picked up the RBI single to score Whitten and give Saint Leo the first lead of the game. With one runner on, it was sophomore Cole Stancil who blasted a homerun over the leftfield fence to extend the Lions' lead to 3-0.

The No. 9 Fighting Knights responded with one run in the bottom of the fourth inning, thanks to a triple and an RBI single.

After a scoreless fifth for both teams, the Fighting Knights tacked on another run in the bottom of the sixth off a solo homerun from junior Alex Freedman.

Leading by just one run, the Lions got their bats going again in the top of the seventh inning to score again. After junior Nick Perez led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a Lynn wild pitch, Whitten collected the one-out intentional walk to give Saint Leo two base runners. It was then freshman Alex Mata who roped an RBI single to centerfield, extending the Lions' lead to 4-2.

Holding the Fighting Knights scoreless in the bottom of the seventh, Saint Leo took home the 4-2 victory as well as the series.

The triumph marks the fifth time this season that the Lions have beaten a top-25 ranked team.

Saint Leo will return to action on Tuesday, April 22 when they host the visiting Florida Tech Panthers in midweek non-conference regional action. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. at Thomas B. Southard Stadium.

For more on the Saint Leo baseball team, visit SaintLeoLions.com. Also, be sure to 'Like' the Lions on Facebook and 'Follow' Saint Leo Athletics on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.